Treat them right

With a criminal father (mostly banks, post offices, aggravated assault and such) I grew up with violence as a steady companion.
Violence was always around the corner, lurking, waiting.
My father and his “friends” never touched us kids or the mothers and they never hurt anyone who did not deserve it.
Also, they never ever did something wrong against animals.

I still remember the agony and pain my father went through when he had to kill newborn kittens of a wildcat.
We where about to leave our summer place and the kittens would have starved to death and nobody wanted a wildcat kitten…
He got seriously drunk, grabbed the axe and went out the door.
Fifteen minutes later he came back in, red eyed and drank some more.
Even 45 years later, when I reminded him of the episode, he got silent, dark eyes and a new wrinkle on his forehead.
He still remembered.
He was probably the most violent man I have ever known. Using hammers on knees and stuff like that.
He was also the most gentle person I’ve met.

So, yes, I’m now over 50, my father and his friends are all gone but violence is still my companion.
I’ve left my own criminal past behind me a long time ago but…
I was in a fistfight only last year. I was sober, coming out from a grocery store. The other guy was a racist, attacking a very young black man (kid).
If I see violence against a person that can’t defend him/herself, I will act but there is one thing that makes me really creative.
It’s not religion, domestic violence or violence against elderly, kids or handicapped people.
In those situations, I will act but not nearly as violent as with animal cruelty.
Abuse your pet in front of me and I’ll place you in hospital for a long long time and call the cops when I’m done with you.
It’s just pure luck that I never have spent time behind bars.

My mother had a kennel for German Shepherds and Boxers when I was very young. I grew up respecting them and I learned a lot from those dogs.
Maybe that’s why I almost get an aneurysm when I see shit like in the clip below. I just snap.

Now days I’ve got a big house and lots of space the dogs can run around on so I take in dogs that have suffered, damaged dogs and I only take big dogs.

It takes time for a dog to heal and gain trust. One of my dogs took six years before I could take her for walks amongst other people.
She urinated at the slightest attention, a slightly heightened voice or if you just looked at her for to long.

Treat your pet right and they will treat you right.
Abuse them and you’ll find me or someone like me behind you one day, with a tire iron and/or a hammer…